Undertow
by phoebe9509
Summary: Hotch and Emily fight for what they want. Story inspired by song by Timbaland


"Why do you never give me any credit?" he yelled. "Everything I do, I do to protect you!"

"I never asked you too!" she argued back. "All I ask is for you to let me do my job."

"How do you expect me to sit idly by as you bait yourself to catch a rapist who goes for victims that look like you? How am I supposed to just sit and wait? Everything I do with you is wrong!"

Emily crossed her arms over her chest. "We wouldn't be having this argument if it was JJ! You would let her go and you know what you would say? You would say that she _had_ to go because it's the_ job_. Why don't you do that for me? Why is JJ so different from me?"

"I'm not in love with JJ!" Hotch snapped in a clipped tone. "What do you want me to say? Shall I apologize for trying to protect you? Is that what you want? I'm sorry," he said with sincerity.

"That's not what I want Hotch. I don't want an apology, I just want you to let me do my job without thinking you're going to lose me every single time I walk outside. It's a dangerous world, you can't protect me from everything out there."

Hotch sat down on the oversized chair in defeat and let out a deep sigh. "Why is it that all we do is fight anymore?" he asked softly, all anger gone from his voice.

"I don't know," Emily replied softly as she dropped her arms down to her side. "I hate arguing with you," she confessed, "it makes me feel so far away from you even though you're right in front of me."

After taking a deep breath, he knew what he had to do. What he had to say, and if he knew anything, it was going to be bad. "This shouldn't be as hard as it is. We shouldn't have to fight so hard to stay together. It seems everywhere we turn someone or something is trying to rip us apart. It's shouldn't be this hard."

A few seconds passed as the words clicked in Emily's head. Without missing a beat, she quickly made her way over to the chair he occupied and kneeled in front of him, placing her hands lightly on his knees. "It's hard because we love each other. We'll get past this just like we got through the rest," she said as she squeezed his knee gently.

"Emily," he started then trailed off, not knowing what else to say, and not wanting to cause another fight between them.

"I would do _anything_ for you, anything at all." Emily took a deep breath as tears filled her eyes, "If not baiting this guy is what you want me to do, I'll do it."

Hotch gripped her hand in his larger one and lifted it to his lips and placed a light kiss on the back of her hand. "I can't ask you to do that Emily. No matter how much I want to, I know that you're right and I need to let you do your job. I have to be objective and I can't be that way with you," he confessed.

"What are you saying Hotch?" she asked afraid of the answer.

"I don't think we're such a good idea anymore," he whispered.

"You never thought we were a good idea," Emily pointed out. "Do you love me?"

Hotch looked into her large eyes in disbelief, but he remained silent.

"Do you love me?" she repeated with more force, telling him that he was going to have to answer no matter what.

"Of course I love you Emily," his hand ran through her long hair. "That's the problem, we wouldn't be sitting here having this discussion if I didn't."

"We don't need to end this," Emily started then quickly continued as she saw Hotch was going to object. "Even if we break up your feelings aren't going to change, you'll still love me and I'll still love you and no matter what you'll want to keep me safe and protect me."

"Emily this is too hard, I can't keep doing this."

"Doing what?" she asked as she stood up, pushed his back and sat on his lap.

Hotch immediately wrapped his arms around her waist. "Fighting with you. In the end that is all Haley and I did and I can't do that with you. I don't want our relationship to end like mine with her did. I need you."

Emily leaned forward and placed her lips caressingly against his then pulled back. "I need you too," she admitted. "Imagine how miserable we would be without each other. And hey," she said as she ran her hand over his cheek then turned it so he'd look at her, "we won't end like that. We won't end at all, because I don't know about you, but I'm in this for the long haul."

"But what about all the—"

"It's good for a couple to fight once in a while," Emily quickly cut him off. "Leads to a healthy sex life," she grinned down at him. "Baby, I love you, and I will do everything in my power to make sure things get better between us. Okay?"

Hotch nodded his head then pulled her closer. He smiled to himself when he felt Emily tighten her hold around his neck as she snuggled closer to him. As he ran his hand soothingly up and down her back he couldn't help but think to himself that this was what he was fighting _for._ What he was going to risk everything for. He would do whatever he had to do to make sure they got to live out the life they wanted.

As he placed a kiss on the side of her neck, he whispered the words he knew she loved to hear. The words he hoped he would never stop saying. The words that made all of the fighting and protectiveness worth it. "I love you too."


End file.
